As a popular multi-role warship of the Republic Navy, the Venator was considered heavily armed and armored enough to lead assaults on Rim worlds like Utapau as well as fast enough to chase down blockade runners.[1]
Due to being relatively less self-sufficient than other ships in the fleet, the Venator-class often relied upon supply lines to aid long-range campaigns.[16]

These vessels also sported the red color of diplomatic immunity all Republic ships sported; by the beginning of the Galactic Empire, the hulls were deprived of this symbol of the Republic, giving them a dull Imperial-gray appearance.[7]

The Venator-class's eight heavy dual turbolaser turrets were its main weapons and had two tracking modes. In its precise, long-range tracking mode, the DBY-827 could hit a target vessel at a range of ten light minutes. During close-range fights, the turrets could rotate in three seconds with their fast-tracking mode.[1] In terms of firepower, these weapons rivaled the main battery on the later Imperial I-class Star Destroyers.

The DBY-827 had seven different power settings. This allowed the Venator's pilots and gunners to select a range of destruction, from a small strike to a vaporizing blow. As a true warship, the Venator-class Star Destroyer could divert almost all of its reactor output to its heavy turbolasers when needed. As a result of this, a flotilla of Venators could break through the shields of a Trade Federationbattleship with ease.[1]

At the suggestion of Anakin Skywalker, a heavy SPHA turbolaser cannon was installed within the ventral hangar bay of some Venator-class ships of the Open Circle Fleet. These weapons were meant to protect the Star Destroyers while they opened their long ventral doors to the army complement bays.[1] They would be used to considerable effect during the Battle of Coruscant.[7]

Propulsion systems

The engine units of a Venator.

Venators were equipped with powerful engines, a Class 1 hyperdrive with an effective range of 60,000 light years. Its main reactor could annihilate up to 40,000 tons of hypermatter fuel per second, producing at maximum 3.6 × 1024 watts of power.[1] This power was routed to four primary thrusters, two secondary thrusters and two tertiary thrusters, with four on either side of the hyperdrive mounting.

The main engine room had several vertical power cylinders littering the room, with walkways on different levels providing access to onboard personnel.[17]

Complement

Despite possessing powerful weaponry and being on par with the Victory-class, the Venator-class was designed with an additional starfighter carrier role in mind. Its hangars were far larger than those on other Star Destroyers like the Victory-class and later models like the Imperator/Imperial-class.[1]

In addition to a standard ventral hangar bay, the bow of a Venator could open up to reveal a half kilometer long dorsal flight deck. This flight deck enabled the Venator-class to rapidly launch hundreds of fighters. However, the slow opening and closing of the armored bow doors could leave the ship extremely vulnerable.

Although strong shielding was used to compensate for this weakness, this design aspect would be entirely omitted from later Star Destroyer designs, such as the Imperator/Imperial-class. On ships in the Open Circle Fleet, a SPHA turbolaser cannon was positioned near the ventral hangar opening for the purpose of protecting the ship along the ventral arc. The Venator-class also had hangar-openings on its port and starboard side. These were used to dock with space stations, mooring towers, and larger starships, for the purpose of transferring troops and materials.[1]

Command tower

The bridge of an Imperial Venator-class Star Destroyer.

Because of its carrier role, the Venator-class featured a novel dual bridge tower design. The port tower was the starfighter command bridge, while the starboard tower served as a standard helm and command bridge. On future designs, this dual bridge design was also employed.[1]
A similar dual-tower design was also seen on the Secutor-class Star Destroyer.[11]

The command bridge was designed with dual crew pits where operators would be stationed to control the ship's various functions. Officers would patrol walkways above and have a panoramic view to the outside.[7] This bridge design would become a standard feature on most Imperial warships.[18]

On top of each tower was a hyperwave communications and scanner module. Its function was similar to the scanner globes on the Imperial-class and other KDY vessels, but it had a flat shape.[1] Flagships in Venator flotillas had red-painted conning towers to separate them from others.[19]

History

Republic origin

The keel and ventral hangar bay of a Venator-class Star Destroyer during the Clone Wars

The Venator-class shared some design-characteristics with a warship class that served in the Mandalorian Neo-Crusader fleet thousands of years before the Clone Wars.[20]

Venator-class Star Destroyers were deployed in many battles during the Clone Wars, most notably during the Battle of Coruscant when upwards of a thousand such ships helped protect the capital,[15] and played pivotal roles in the repulsion of the CIS forces and the rescue of Supreme ChancellorPalpatine.[7] Separatist forces categorized this kind of vessel as Cruiser-class, to contrast the Escort-class designation for smaller vessels, like the Arquitens-class and Consular-class.[21]

These warships were fast enough to pursue blockade runners, while also being large enough to lead independent operations, such as the Battle of Cato Neimoidia, Battle of Kashyyyk, and the Battle of Utapau. They could be used to land troops on planetary surfaces, and serve as escorts for larger battleships, but their primary role was as mainline cruisers and starfighter carriers.[1][22]
As ships of the line, they were often grouped in lines of three to four ships.[23]

Imperial period and beyond

By the end of the Clone Wars, it had become the most popular capital ship of the Republic, although shortly after the formation of the New Order, it was eclipsed by designs inspired by the Victory-class.[1] Despite this, Venators were used to great effect in the early years of the Empire.[24] In the Empire, these ships were stripped of the colorful markings of the Republic models.[14] At least two Venators were involved in pursuing the L-4000 smuggler ship Uhumele alongside a contingent of fighter squadrons.[11]

Eventually, more robust vessels such as the Imperator- and Tector-class became favored, and the Venator and its variants were phased out.[1] This was partially due to its over-reliance on starfighters, as it went against the prevailing Tarkin Doctrine and due to its prominent position in the Republic Navy, which the Empire attempted to distance itself from.[25]

Behind the scenes

Venator-class Star Destroyer profile shots.

The engine room of the Venator-class is modeled after the Gravity Control System of the SDF-1 Macross, from the first Macross anime series.[29]

In Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith Incredible Cross-Sections, the Venator-class is described both as serving the part of a destroyer escorting larger Republic battleships, and described as a battleship itself (the latter in the section on the Invisible Hand). This is most likely a reference to different classification systems being in use, one of which labels Star Destroyers like the Victory- and Venator-classes being medium-sized destroyers, while another labels them as battleships.

In the same book, the Utapauns are said to use "downscaled" warships, such as the Dreadnaught-class heavy cruiser. This explains why the Dreadnaught-class is often referenced as a cruiser rather than a frigate (even when many were rebuilt into assault frigates), despite being smaller than both the Empire's Star Destroyers and their Star Cruisers. A similar system would be described by New Republic scholars as the Imperial Classification System in many of the West End Games sourcebooks.

In the early development of Star Wars: Empire at War, the Venator-class was seen in at least one or two promotional screenshots. It was then featured in the demo but was cut from the final game, though it can be modded back into the game completely. The unit was eventually included in Empire at War's expansion pack Forces of Corruption and can be purchased in the game's Skirmish free-play mode; it is not available, however, in story-related scenarios.

Appearances

Concept art of a Venator opening its dorsal hangar doors over Cato Neimoidia.